Whilst we are waiting...........

 for a verdict on whether the car can be repaired or whether it is a right off, life goes on and things still need to be done.  G has been particularly depressed over the weekend with what has happened to the car; however I have kept at him and "bullied" him back into a better mood armed with lots of mushrooms (for his brekkie) and which also apparently are very good with people with long term depressive conditions - supposedly helps with their moods dipping very suddenly.  I therefore as a rule usually make sure that Mushrooms feature somewhere in day to day eating for him and in a roundabout way keeping him on an even keel benefits me in a roundabout kind of way.

Monday

Monday night we had some lovely Lamb steaks (which were minted) and mashed potato, mixed beans, peas and carrots, PSB, Cavolo Nero Kale and lots of gravy.  It was delicious and went down very nicely indeed. 

Tuesday 

I had to get the Gas and Electricity put on the cards for the month (this is budgeted for each month).  Whilst we were out we were discussing tea options for tonight.  As we had a lovely full tea last night, I thought therefore that we might have a snack tea this evening.  After going through the options and asking G about what he would like to eat, I realised that we had not had a favourite i.e. nice sausages in tomatoes for a while.  I therefore asked G to do a detour to one of the Butchers we use  (Moor Farm at Newborough) specifically to get some sausages.  I ended up buying a kilo of Lincolnshire sausages, 1 kilo of Kitty B sausages and some Kitty B chipolatas.  I also bought two strips of sausagemeat for making sausage rolls or stuffing and two Scotch Eggs to help cheer G up a bit.   G bought a nice piece of Topside for Sunday dinner this week.  It is a while since we have had Beef so very much looking forward to that.  This particular Butcher does a membership scheme where you get a little reward back from them after completing a card which is related to purchases.  This currently lets you have a pack of sausages or a pack of mince as a freebie an extra, just as a small way of saying thank you for your custom.  It is not much but it is something.  We had three full cards due and so have ended up with three packs of mince coming home with us.  I have lots to get into the freezer now.  This particular month has been a really good meat stocking up month.  I will however continue to look out for suitable joints and a few more chickens for the freezer next month. Doing it in tranches or bits at a time also helps me keep tabs on what is in the freezer and what we actually do need.

This month as well I have also managed to do a mega stock up on cleaning and household items such as toilet paper, etc.  It has been a while since I had a good stock up on the basic items that I do use.  I like to be able to keep things clean at all cost without paying through the nose so I tend to have more in-house than most people usually do.  However there is a method in the madness.  With the two 77 wash packs of Persil that I have bought I have potentially three months of washing catered for (maybe a little more).  I may be untidy but I am clean untidy!

Tea went down very well indeed with the Sausages and Tomatoes served with some plain bread.  Pudding was just some tinned peaches and a little cream.

I then set too and got all the sausages, sausage meat, the Topside joint, the mince into the freezer.  Ran out of freezer bags half way through and had to nip and get some.  Then I was playing Freezer Jenga with the door refusing to close at one point and it turned out that the rear of a chicken joint was just a little overlapping and that is why the door would not close.  All sorted now though.

Mission completed though, we now have a fully stocked freezer.  I will have some more wriggle room when I use up all the fruit that I have in the freezer made up into jams.  Then should be able to add some more food in there.  However in the meantime we have quite a lot of good eating ahead of  us, although as I have said we do not normally have meat every night. Although this week it looks as though we have a few aberrations.

I would also mention that often we go without other things to make sure that we eat well.  I was taught very early on that you were indeed rich if you had a roof over your head, food in your belly and heat.  That is why for me it is important to have the Pantry and the freezer, fridge and any other food storage that I can acquire stocked sensibly.  I try and have something of everything so that I can set too and cook, and bake and preserve, something to put in our bellies even when pennies are low and the bulk of them has to go on basic bills that we all need to live.  Sometimes I am able to  buy either in a big specific meat shop, or gradual additions.  It does no matter how you do it as long as  you find something that works for you and your family and your specific situation.

Future Plans

This month I do need to get some apples and one or two other bits for preserving.  I need more sugar for all the items on the make list as I do not (which is unusual for me, have any in at the moment)!

In the interim I want to start playing with having a go at making some bread again, both Sourdough and ordinary.  I have found my heat pad and am going to get that going into a small poly box going to turn it into a homemade Bread Prover.  My kitchen is very cold and not a good environment for bread making and especially is not good for getting the bread to rise.  I am attempting therefore to find my way around this inconvenient problem!  I can only try.        

Next month it will be predominantly tinned goods and Pantry goods that  I will be stocking up on. Between the Pantry and the Freezer and the potatoes and onions we manage to eat very well.  It is not fancy, just good solid food that does what it is meant to do and overall is very good for you.  Any leftovers are also squeezed into the freezer as well, especially if we have had a joint for Sunday Dinner.  Do not waste anything if I can help it.  

I hope everyone is keeping well.  Keep safe wherever you.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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